American Idol is keeping its judging panel intact, with Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood all back for Season 9 on ABC — the music competition series’ 24th overall — which will premiere on the Disney network in January. Bryan and Richie have been on the show since its relaunch on ABC. Former Idol winner Underwood joined them last season, replacing Katy Perry.
Missing from ABC’s judges announcement is one person who has been on Idol for all of its 23 seasons to date: host Ryan Seacrest. While he doesn’t have a closed deal yet, he is fully expected to return, sources said.
Season 9 auditions start Tuesday, with Idol Across America, the show’s live virtual nationwide talent search, taking place across all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Bryan, Richie and Underwood helped kick off the process with a special video that you can watch below.
American Idol‘s Season 8 finale ranked No. 1 for the week in primetime and earned the show’s best total viewer audience in two years. Idol also as the No. 1 most social reality series across TV so far in 2025 with 1.65-plus billion social video views. Season 8 winner Jamal Roberts’ first single “Heal” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Gospel chart in May 2025.
Produced by Fremantle and 19 Entertainment, a part of Sony Pictures Television, American Idol is executive produced by showrunner Megan Wolflick as well as Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman for 19 Entertainment. Fremantle distributes the series worldwide.
Idol Across America auditions will be held as follows (subject to change):
“First 900” VIP Event (Aug. 26)
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi (Aug. 27)
Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas (Aug. 28)
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina (Sept. 2)
Nationwide open call (Sept. 3)
Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania (Sept. 4)
Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee (Sept. 8)
Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Washington (Sept. 9)
Florida, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia (Sept. 11)
East Coast open call (Sept. 12)
The South open call (Sept. 15)
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin (Sept. 16)
West and Midwest open call (Sept. 18)
Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C. (Sept. 19)
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming (Sept. 22)
Nationwide open call (Sept. 24)
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